A Welcome Arrow Through the Heart
by LunaArcana
Summary: Lan Fan's first mistake was signing up for an eight o'clock class. Her second mistake was taking chemistry with Elric. Everyone had warned her Professor Elric's class was tough. Even the clerk at the registrar's office asked if she was sure she didn't want to wait until spring semester to take it with someone else. But Lan Fan didn't back down from a challenge.
1. Chapter 1

"Excuse me!"

Lan Fan ran through the subway station at breakneck speed.

The first year university student had almost been on time this morning, until she realized a block and a half from her apartment that she left her yugake and muneate in her duffle bag. Lan Fan usually kept her archery equipment in her backpack, but she'd gone home over the weekend for a visit. She spent the majority of the time at her grandfather's kyudojo.

The young archer had a competition coming up and needed the practice; There was no one better to help her prepare than her grandfather.

If Lan Fan didn't catch this train she'd definitely be late to chemistry. Lan Fan had already shown up tardy twice this semester. The graduate student teaching her Introduction to Chemistry course threatened to kick her out of the class if she showed up late a third time. Professor Edward Elric was a self important ass who thought his class should be at the top of everyone's priorities.

Her archery skills got her a full scholarship to one of the best universities in the country, but if a certain science teacher failed her she'd end up on academic probation. That meant losing her only means of paying tuition. As the first one in her family to go to university she wasn't about to let them down by icing out.

Lan Fan's first mistake was signing up for an eight o'clock class. Her second mistake was taking chemistry with Elric. Everyone had warned her Professor Elric's class was tough. Even the clerk at the registrar's office asked if she was sure she didn't want to wait until spring semester to take it with someone else. But Lan Fan wanted to get as many of her general education classes out of the way as she could her first year.

Besides, Lan Fan didn't back down from a challenge.

The stairs down to the platform teemed with commuters. Over the din of the crowd she heard the muffled overhead announcement that her train was about to depart the station. Lan Fan went for broke.

"Coming through!" she shouted.

The archer gripped the strap of her backpack and slid down the railing of the staircase.

Lan Fan landed on her feet at the bottom of the stairs. Bolting across the platform she managed to make it through the closing doors in time. Wisps of hair escaped her top knot, and she had gotten a bit sweaty from her mad dash to the station, but Lan Fan had made her train.

More importantly she had everything she needed for archery club.

Truth be told Lan Fan could've used the practice equipment at school but they weren't the ones grandfather had given her. Fu gave Lan Fan her own yugake and muneate on the day she graduated high school. He told her to make him proud and one day she would inherit the kyudojo.

Not her older brother Hiro or one of her cousins but Lan Fan.

Once she graduated college Grandfather would let her work at the kyudojo. Emphasis on graduate. If Lan Fan had her way she would already be working at the kyudojo, but Fu wanted her to get her education first.

Aside from not getting kicked out of chem there was one other reason Lan Fan didn't want to miss this train. The guy with the yellow headphones. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he took the seven-thirty train. Lan Fan didn't know the guy's name but he always wore the same bright yellow headphones and long black coat. She spotted him sitting in the seat next to the doors on the other side of the subway car. He almost always wore his hair in a ponytail but today he had it in a bun as messy as her own.

Lan Fan took hold of the strap hanger above her hand and angled herself so she could look at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't dare make eye contact with the guy. Lan Fan barely knew how to talk to boys let alone handsome men.

Saying hello was out of the question.

Of course, Lan Fan had run the scenario through her head just about a thousand times. She could ask him what music he was listening to, but if he was listening to music that probably meant he didn't want anyone talking to him. Lan Fan used that tactic herself, and saved a few choice swear words for any idiot who ignored the blatantly obvious message of Don't Talk To Me.

Today, yellow headphones guy wore dark jeans and white t-shirt emblazoned with a cutesy panda on the front to go along with his dramatic black coat. The shirt seemed an odd choice.

'Maybe his girlfriend gave it to him,' Lan Fan thought.

Because of course he had a girlfriend. A pretty one who probably curled her hair every day, and knew how to use makeup and accessorize.

In other words the complete opposite of her.

On the floor between his sneaker clad feet sat a yellow backpack with black straps. Lan Fan wondered if yellow was his favorite color. The color reminded her of yellow camellias and wasn't that just perfect?

Yellow camellias meant longing in hanakotoba. Lan Fan's mother let her spend most of her free time at the kyudojo growing up, but she still had to learn to arrange flowers with her little sisters. Kana and Naomi were obsessed with hanakotoba. They were forever sending messages with flowers.

Lan Fan was the only one in her immediate family with a Chinese given name.

In grade school her classmates ridiculed her mercilessly for it. As she grew older she didn't mind it so much. Grandfather had given it to her after all. Fu named her after her great-grandmother. Her grandfather's father had apparently caused quite a scandal when he married Chinese girl.

Lan Fan considered her Chinese name a badge of honor, but she hated how it caused trouble for her sisters. She didn't care if people looked down on her for not being full Japanese, but she'd kick the ass of anyone stupid enough to bully her little sisters for being hafu.

Kana and Naomi didn't know about the guy with the yellow headphones. She hadn't told them how he tapped his right foot to the beat of his music, or how he had no trouble typing text messages with only one thumb. Lan Fan watched him wind and unwind the cord of his headphones around the fingers of his left hand.

He had such beautiful hands. His fingernails were filed into smooth crescents, nailbeds buffed shiny, and cuticles neatly trimmed. The archer glanced at her free hand. Lan Fan had a bad habit of biting her nails. She noticed she had a hangnail along the side of her thumbnail. A boy with beautiful hands would never want to take hers.

Lan Fan chanced another look at him.

The guy glanced up from his phone at the very same time. He caught her looking and smiled. Lan Fan's face grew hot. Her mouth went dry. She couldn't seem to break eye contact. Was it possible to die from mortification? If so it seemed a slow death. The embarrassed archer tore her gaze away.

'I can never take this train again,' Lan Fan thought.

The guy with the yellow headphones stepped in front of her, grabbed onto the strap above him, and pulled those headphones of his down around his neck.

"Hi."

"Hey," Lan Fan muttered.

"I'm Ling," he introduced himself

With a name like Ling she wondered if he was hafu. She certainly wasn't going to ask.

"I've seen you before," Ling said.

"I take this train a lot."

"What's your name?"

"Uh, it's Lan Fan," she answered.

Ling laughed.

"Your name is cold rice?" He tilted his head in curiosity.

"Orchid Fragrance," Lan Fan corrected.

He abruptly changed the subject.

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?"

"All this talk of food is making me hungry. You should have breakfast with me, Cold Rice," he called her in Japanese.

"I have class," she said.

"Coffee then. I'll walk you to class," Ling offered.

"You want to get coffee with me?" Lan Fan gawked at him.

"Of course! Will you get coffee with me, Cold Rice?"

Lan Fan didn't have a chance to answer or tell him to stop calling her that. The rumble of the train beneath their feet transformed into a violent shake. The overhead lights flickered. The train tipped on its track. Lan Fan lost her grip. She fell into Ling and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Screams and screeching metal filled the air in a cacophony of nightmare soundscape.

The strap Ling held broke and the two of them fell.

Lan Fan landed on top of him. She lifted her head and saw the world tilt on it's axis. The archer shielded her other reason for being on this train with her body as the windows shattered and metal tore. Something sharp struck her shoulder. A scream drowned out all other sounds for her.

She didn't realize the scream was her own.

* * *

Lan Fan woke up to the sound of someone humming. She didn't recognize the ceiling above her. The room smelled like antiseptic. It smelled like a hospital so she figured that's where she must be. She thought she should be worried, but the morphine kept her cares at bay. Lan Fan turned her head toward the hum.

The guy from the train sat next to her hospital bed. He held her hand and hummed a song she didn't know off the top of her head. On her index finger she saw one of those little devices used to monitor your pulse. She had an I.V. port in the back of her hand.

"Hey, you're awake."

Lan Fan looked at Ling whose name she only just remembered. He wore a hospital gown and had an I.V. of his own and a stand to go with it. Ling had a bandage around his head and some scratches on his face, but otherwise looked no worse for wear.

"Hi."

Her voice sounded scratchy to her own ears.

"The nurse said only family in ICU. Your grandpa is on his way. If anyone asks I'm your boyfriend," Ling said.

"Boyfriend?"

"I hope you don't mind," he said in apology.

Lan Fan lifted her left hand to wave off his worry but it didn't move. She tried to turn her head to look. Ling put his hand on her cheek, pulled her focus back to him.

"You saved my life," Ling said, his voice raw with emotion.

"The train…" she recalled.

"There was an earthquake."

He still had his hand on her cheek. The guy who seemed to be missing his yellow headphones stroked his thumb along her cheekbone. Lan Fan became bashful. Even on morphine he still gave her butterflies.

"It's going to be okay," he promised.

"Where's my backpack?"

"Don't worry about that right now."

"I need my backpack."

Lan Fan turned her head to look for her backpack. She had to make sure she had her backpack. Her yugake and muneate were in there. Grandfather would be angry with her if she lost them. The archer didn't see her backpack nor did she see her bow arm.

"My arm," she intoned.

"I'm sorry," Ling said.

He sounded so broken when he said it. As if he was the one who had lost a limb and his whole life along with it. Lan Fan made an awful keening cry. She tried to touch the bandages, but Ling held onto her hand. It hardly took any effort on his part. The archer who could no longer hold a bow wailed in grief.

Lan Fan wished she was dead.

A nurse came in and injected something into her I.V.

The pain and the world washed away.


	2. Chapter 2

The little button that administered morphine provided Lan Fan a modicum of solace from her disastrous life. Two days passed with brief periods of agony and alertness remedied by the regimented painkiller. Whenever she awoke there was someone sitting by her bedside. Her grandfather arrived the first night and her mother the morning after. Lan Fan chose sleep over watching her mother cry.

On the third day her doctor had her moved from ICU to a regular room.

When the day nurse came to change her bandages and provide wound care Lan Fan asked her family to leave. Lan Fan's ever supportive and currently overbearing mother Mayu protested. Grandfather came to her rescue with the suggestion they grab coffee downstairs in the cafeteria.

Ling hadn't stopped by since day one. Lan Fan thought that was fine. She didn't have the energy to comfort someone else over her loss. Losses. A college degree, inheriting the kyudojo, drinking coffee on the way to class in the company of her crush. Everything Lan Fan wanted was out of her reach now.

Lan Fan shut her eyes as the nurse cut the bandages free. She knew eventually she'd have to see her stump of a shoulder but Lan Fan wasn't ready. If she wasn't looking at her stump she still felt her arm there. The doctor called the sensation phantom limb. Lan Fan thought the term fitting, since she felt like a ghost of herself.

"Your boyfriend stopped by earlier," the nurse said conversationally. "You were sleeping so he said he'd drop by later."

Lan Fan opened her eyes but kept them on the view on the window. A breeze played with the leaves of the red maple outside. As the nurse tended to her wound Lan Fan pressed the button to administer the morphine. For the first time the drug didn't immediately put her to sleep.

"He's not my boyfriend," Lan Fan said. She didn't want to see him again. Things were bad enough without her longheld crush looking at her with pity in his eyes. Lan Fan would rather never see Ling again than have him look at her like that.

"He certainly seems sweet on you," the nurse lilted.

Lan Fan closed her eyes, pretending to fall asleep while the nurse finished dressing her wound. The nurse left and awhile later she heard muffled voices in the hallway. The sounds faded away after a few minutes. Shortly thereafter she heard a soft tapping sound. Lan Fan kept her eyes closed until the tapping sounded again. Upon opening her eyes she saw Ling at her window.

Ling gave her a bright smile and a wave. He stood balanced on the maple branch laden with a backpack and a plastic grocery bag. Lan Fan blinked several times, certain this was some sort of opioid induced hallucination. Could morphine even cause hallucinations? Lan Fan wasn'st sure. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand for good measure.

The guy from the train presently in the tree turned out to be the real. Ling pointed to the lock on the window sill. Was he crazy? The fact he chose to come to her window instead of her door suggested as much. It also happened to pique her curiosity. Her previous thought of not wanting to see him again forgotten, Lan Fan gingerly sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and grabbed the I.V. stand for support as she stood up.

She made her way over to window, wheeling the I.V. stand with her. Lan Fan flipped the little lever on the lock open. Ling pressed his palm to the pane, sliding the window open an inch, then pulled it the rest of the way one handed.

"Hello," he chirped.

"Are you crazy?" Lan Fan voiced her thought from a moment ago.

Ling laughed like a fountain of mirth.

"You know, I took you for the sort of girl who loves to climb trees."

Lan Fan almost cracked a smile but not quite. She did like climbing trees and fire escapes and onto roofs. But it seemed her days of scaling her way to the highest available point were behind her.

"What sort of girl is that?" Lan Fan asked. It wasn't the kind of question she'd ask if she weren't under the influence of the good drugs.

"My kind of girl. Can I come in?" He asked with this hopeful look on his face and a shy smile on his mouth. Lan Fan shrugged her good shoulder as she stepped back. His smile widened and he hopped through the window with ease.

"I have something for you," Ling said in triumph.

"For me?" she questioned.

Ling dropped the grocery bag on the table by her hospital bed them took off his backpack. Only then did Lan Fan realize it wasn't his sunny backpack he carried but her own off white one now stained with dirt and possibly soot. She recognized it by the chococat keychain pull on the front zipper. Kana gave her the keychain, which doubled as a USB flash drive.

"Look what I found!"

Lan Fan didn't know how to react. When she first awoke after surgery the archer had concerned herself with little else, but now the backpack and its contents did her no good. Every item held within the bag she'd had since high school became a relic of the past, a reminder of the future lost to her, the moment she realized her bow arm was gone.

The textbooks, the school supplies, the archery equipment. The information she printed out on the World Archery Championship and subsequent Olympic trials, which she hadn't brought up to anyone not even Grandfather, all useless now. Save for her phone and wallet the whole lot could be consigned to the trash.

"This is yours isn't it?" Ling asked now uncertain due to her non-reaction.

"It's mine," she confirmed. The archer whose dreams were irrevocably dashed sat on the edge of her bed. "Where did you even find it?"

"I did some digging," he evaded. Ling placed her backpack on the floor by the foot of her bed.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know," Ling smiled. "I wanted to. You were really worried about it after all."

"Thanks," Lan Fan muttered.

Instead of his usual coat Lan Fan noticed he wore a black zip up hoodie with jeans and another graphic t-shirt. This one had two cartoonish astronauts sitting on either side of a fire roasting marshmallows. Beneath them were the words 'Space Camp.' On his feet he wore the same sneakers from the other day. He didn't look like someone who survived a literal train wreck a matter of days ago.

Lan Fan hadn't the energy to care about her own appearance. It didn't matter what she wore from now on. From here on out she'd always look the same.

Maimed.

"Are you hungry?" Ling inquired.

He didn't wait for her to answer before unpacking the grocery bag. From it he produced a cornucopia of snacks. Mochi, onigiri in a variety of flavors, convenience store sushi with disposable hashi, Calbee lightly salted potato chips, konpeito (which were decidedly fancy compared to the rest of the delicious fare), bisuko biscuits, ramune soda, and last of all canned cold brew coffee.

"I know, I know it's a lot! But hospital food leaves a lot to be desired, and I figured you probably have a bit of a stay."

Lan Fan regarded the haul with wide eyes. If they weren't complete strangers she could've kissed him. She might've kissed him if she didn't feel so broken.

"You got all this for me?" Lan Fan asked in disbelief.

"Well," Ling last-name-unknown became a bit bashful. He scratched the back of his head and said, "I thought maybe we could eat some together."

Lan Fan reddened across her cheeks and nose.

Just then someone rapped on the door to her hospital room. Without waiting for permission to enter Lan Fan's brother and sisters barreled through the door. Her mother promised they'd come to visit soon but Lan Fan hadn't expected them today. Lan Fan guessed Kana and Naomi pestered Hiro into bringing them after school. Her sisters were still dressed in their respective middle and high school uniforms.

"Lan Fan!" The girls cried with great joy.

Naomi, the sixteen year old middle sister, looked pretty as a picture with her candy apple lip color, freckles fashioned from gold leaf, and rose gold hair. She had her own beauty channel on YouTube. Naomi tried time and again to cajole Lan Fan into being in one of her transformation videos but no luck. Lan Fan hid on the roof every time she came after her with an eyeshadow pallet and those false lashes that looked lovely on Naomi, but freaked Lan Fan out.

Kana on the other hand had a wholesome appearance to go along with her good girl tendencies. She wore her hair in a blunt chin length cut with straight across bangs and didn't wear anything more on her face than moisturizer and tinted lipbalm. At thirteen Kana was still the baby of the family and they all dotted on her accordingly.

The first of them entered the room last. Hiro, who Lan Fan hadn't seen nearly enough of late considering they both lived in the city, had an even more subdued demeanor than usual today. Her steadfast brother became the man of the house when their parents divorced six years ago.

Hiro stepped up to the plate to help their mother around the house and with his trio of sisters. He had only been fifteen at the time, but he took on responsibility without so much as a word of complaint.

Each of her siblings came bearing gifts. Hiro carried a paper shopping bag on the side of which Lan Fan saw the logo of the cafe where he worked; Kana held a red paper pinwheel she no doubt made herself; and Naomi had a bouquet of peonies in her arms.

Peonies for bravery.

"Hey, sis," Hiro greeted.

"Who is this?" Naomi sing songed as she set eyes on Ling.

Kana cupped one hand around the side of her mouth and stage whispered, "The boyfriend?"

The sheer number of people in the room overwhelmed Lan Fan. Kana and Naomi were always upbeat, but their smiles appeared plastered on. The happy expressions didn't reach their eyes. Ling's laugh sounded strained this time.

A room full of people pretending to be happy.

"Oh well… that is to say..."

"He's not my boyfriend," Lan Fan monotoned.

"Don't lie," Naomi chastised.

"Grandpa told us the whole story," Kana said.

"How you protected him in the crash. Then he stopped your bleeding with his coat," continued Naomi.

"And after you got out of surgery he wouldn't go back to his own room until grandpa showed up," Kana added.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a boyfriend," the girls finished in unison.

No one had told Lan Fan any of this until now. She set her eyes on the man who apparently saved her life to the ruination of his handsome coat. He looked altogether awkward under the attention of the Mori siblings.

"You did all that?"

* * *

For weeks Ling Yao tried to catch the eye of the elusive co-ed on the train.

Everytime he saw her she seemed to be in a hurry. The girl from the train always wore her hair in a bun. He liked how her fringe framed her face, though he desired to see her hair down. The first time he saw her she wore these mulberry colored leggings with a black tank top under this grey oversized college sweatshirt that kept sliding off her shoulder. Her feet were a with a pair of boots.

Ling thought she looked like an artist. Someone who studied liberal arts and spent her spare time writing slam poetry and dismantling the patriarchy. A founder of the modern day beat generation. The sort of woman who knew exactly what she wanted out of life and how she planned to get it.

Of course that was all speculation.

He wanted to know the real her.

Until three days ago she never even looked at him, but that didn't mean he hadn't noticed those intense eyes of hers. But when he finally managed to catch her eye things went catastrophically wrong. A cruel twist of fate diminished her. In this state she reminded him of a smoldering bonfire.

He didn't want to see her spark snuffed out.

Ling suddenly had all eyes on him.

"Um, you see," he grasped for something to say, "I couldn't just leave considering how you saved my life."

As it turned out he said the wrong thing entirely.

"I didn't do anything. You don't owe me anything. I don't need or want your pity," the girl from the train cut a dull look at the people he presumed were her siblings. "Any of you."

"Lan Fan-" Her brother began.

"I'm tired," she declared.

Silence of the uncomfortable sort settled into the room.

"Come on girls let's go find mom and grandpa. Lan Fan needs her rest."

Lan Fan's family laid their presents on the dresser. It felt more akin to leaving offerings on a grave than giving get well gifts.

The youngest girl looked over her shoulder and said, "Feel better."

Lan Fan kept silent.

Her little sister quietly shut the door behind her. An autumn breeze filtered in through the open window and flirted with the blinds. Ling lingered between Lan Fan's bed and his makeshift entrance into the room. He wanted to take back his words. To explain how he wanted to talk to her since the first time he saw her.

He wanted to buy her coffee and walk her to class, even if only as a friend, because he'd never wanted to get to know anyone as much as he wanted to know her.

"Thanks for finding my backpack."

The words had finality to them.

As if they were the last she ever intended to say to him.

"Lan Fan…" He faltered.

Lan Fan laid down and shut her eyes. His heart sank. Ling felt helpless. He couldn't fix this. Ling couldn't even offer comfort or companionship to Lan Fan, because she made pretty it clear she didn't want him here.

Ling walked to the door. He stopped with his hand on the door but didn't look back.

"Be sure to eat the sushi before it goes bad."

Ling closed the door behind him. From the other side he heard her muffled sobs.

And there wasn't anything he could do about them.

Ling zipped his jacket and pulled up the hood as he headed to the elevators. On the bench across from them he spotted Lan Fan's presumed brother. Lan Fan looked more like her sisters than her brother but they all had the same brown eyes.

Lan Fan's brother stood as he approached. Before Ling could say anything he gave him a reverent bow.

"Thank you for saving my sister's life. Please forgive her behavior. Lan Fan lived and breathed kyudo. She isn't taking this loss well."

"W-What?" Ling asked aghast.

He didn't have any idea Lan Fan was an athlete let alone an archer.

No wonder she seemed so full of despair.

"It's Ling isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah. Ling Yao."

"Hiro Mori," he introduced himself.

Hiro took out a business card and wrote on the back with a ballpoint pen.

"Lan Fan isn't the best at making friends. Right now she could use one and you seem genuine enough."

Hiro handed him the business card. Ling accepted the card with both hands and offered a bow. The business card had a robin's egg blue background. The words Lulu's Cafe and the restaurant's phone number were embossed in loopy silver script. Ling turned the card over. On the back beneath his name and manager title Hiro had written Lan Fan Mori and a phone number.

"Thank you but I'm not sure she wants me for a friend."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, but if you want my advice I'd say the way to her heart is food. Just don't get too chummy with my sister," Hiro warned.

"Perfect gentleman," Ling promised.

"I'll hold you to it."

Ling believed him.

Hiro Mori stepped over to the elevator and pressed the down arrow.

"Can I ask why you're trusting this to me?" Ling inquired.

The doors to the elevator on the left opened. Hiro walked inside and turned toward the front. He pressed button for the floor he wanted.

"Because if Lan Fan put herself in harm's way for you then you must be special," Hiro answered.

The elevator doors closed.

Ling Yao took the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Professor Edward Elric kept office hours between three and five o'clock on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The bookshelves lining the length of every available wall were stuffed to the brim with scientific texts and research journals. On the wall behind the desk hanged a framed poster of the periodic table of elements.

The doctoral candidate in chemistry hated office hours.

His students didn't take advantage of them. At least, not to the extent they did at Oxford where Edward taught undergrad while earning his Master's of Science in Theoretical and Physical Chemistry. According to Alphonse his students didn't seek out his help because of Ed's 'mean face' and 'penchant for shouting.'

Ed Elric didn't think he had a mean face. In comparison to Al who wore a pleasant expression a majority of the time, sure, maybe. But he didn't shout. That much. He had a passionate for pedagogy but he'd admit his own methods were a work in progress.

A doctorate in chemistry meant a career in academia. There weren't a whole lot of options unless he wanted to end up working for a pharmaceutical company, which Edward most certainly did not. This entire process essentially amounted to a five year long interview. If Ed got lucky he'd find a position on the tenure track with a respectable startup package to conduct research, but odds were he'd land an adjunct position with shit pay and no benefits.

Taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans wasn't the worst mistake of his life. It could've been worse. He'd gotten scholarships and grants to lessen the overall cost. Besides Trisha Elric had wanted her boys to get their education. His mother married their father straight out of high school. Until their father ditched them they were a happy little family. Once he'd gone and left them Trisha didn't have a degree to fall back on. She worked day and night at a diner in order to support them.

'Maybe I should keep getting degrees and defer my loans until I'm dead,' Ed considered while grading quizzes. Once Edward finished marking the quiz sheets he flipped open his gradebook to record the scores. When he reached Lan Fan's line on the page he circled a big, fat zero in the box.

It pissed him off.

Lan Fan Mori skipped all three of his classes and the lab this week. He probably wouldn't care so much if she wasn't so bright. Lan Fan got good marks when she bothered to show up to class on time. At this point he had no other choice but to fail her. Even if she did show up for the midterm in two weeks she wouldn't pass without catching up on everything she missed.

Edward looked up from his gradebook when he heard a knock on the open door to his office. A high school girl with cotton candy pink hair stood in the threshold. She had her school bag in one hand, and held a powder blue folder dotted with koala bears munching on eucalyptus in the other.

The folder looked like something his brother's zoology major girlfriend would like. Mei Chang had a thing for panda bears. Edward respected her desire to save the planet through wildlife conservation. He figured Mei also liked koalas considering she found a lot of vicious creatures adorable. Ed made a mental note to get her something of the sort for Christmas, which would be here before he knew it.

"Yeah?" Ed said in lieu of a proper greeting. He didn't know this girl. She clearly wasn't one of his students.

"Hi there," the high school girl chirped.

"Do you need something?" Edward cut the chase.

The high school girl crossed one foot over the other and tilted her head to the side.

"Professor Elric, right?"

"That's right…"

Little Miss Fairy Floss crossed the room to the desk. Placing the folder on top of his gradebook she said, "I need your signature."

Edward opened the folder to see what she needed signed. Inside he found several sheets of paper. He pulled out the stack and read the one on top.

"Forms to take an incomplete?" Ed looked up at her. "You aren't in my class."

The high school girl pointed to the name on the form. Edward noticed her nails were tipped gold and finished with clear polish.

"Not me. Lan Fan Mori. I'm her sister Naomi."

Edward heard enough. He shoved the papers back into the folder, flipped it shut, and held it back out to her.

"Not gonna happen."

She looked startled.

"Her advisor said she could take incompletes. He told us he would email her professors and we would only have to get signatures," Naomi explained.

Truth be told Edward didn't check his email often enough. If Lan Fan's advisor emailed him he hadn't read it. Half the time Alphonse went through his inbox for him in addition to entering his students grades in the electronic system. Ed had a Facebook but only because Winry made one for him.

"Incompletes are given at the instructor's discretion. Your sister showed up late too often and missed class too much. If Lan Fan wants an incomplete tell her she has to come here herself and ask for it instead of sending you to do it for her."

In an instant, Naomi Mori went from Strawberry Shortcake to Valkyrie here to usher him not into Valhalla but unto Hel. Slamming her palm down onto the surface of his desk she shouted at him.

"No! I'm not going to do that! You're going to sign right now for me. You will sign the form or I will call on every one of my Instagram and YouTube followers to this school's twitter demanding you be fired. Do not underestimate the power of fifty thousand girls with 5G."

Edward Elric's eyes went wide. He leaned back in his chair as far as he could as she leaned over his desk to spit venom from her glossy lips.

"I'll email every news media site you've ever heard of and direct message every blogger I'm sure you haven't. I'll make sure everyone knows what a heartless monster you are," she swore.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ed asked of this terrifying teen.

"You are my problem! Now sign the form," Naomi shrieked in his face.

Edward Elric picked up a pen and opened the folder before she tore his damn head off.

"Thank you."

As Ed pressed the point of his ballpoint pen to the signature line he heard the first sniffle. He glanced at her through the curtain of his bangs. Edward Elric watched Naomi Mori's incensed countenance crumple.

"H-Hey," Ed stuttered. He didn't do well with tears, especially the tears of teenage girls he himself caused. "Don't cry. Look I'm signing it. See?" Edward scrawled his signature across the line."I'm sorry."

Naomi's bottom lip quivered. Tears caught in her long lashes before trailing down her rosy cheeks. Lan Fan's little sister hiccupped.

The chemistry professor sighed.

"It's just…" Ed waffled over his words. "Your sister is a good student when she comes to class. I hate to see her drop out."

Ed held out the folder.

"It's not like she wants to," she sniffled.

"Hold on," Edward furrowed his brow.

Lan Fan's little sister moved to take the folder only for Professor Elric to pull it out of her reach.

"What?" Naomi sounded exasperated.

"Why is Lan Fan taking incompletes?"

"Seriously?" Now she looked incredulous in addition to sounding exasperated.

"Tell me why," Ed insisted. He added, "Please."

"The train accident. Lan Fan is in the hospital," Naomi informed him.

Edward knew all about the train accident from Alphonse. After all, his girlfriend's brother had by some miracle made it out of that mess with a minor concussion. Mei called Al on the morning of the accident crying so hard he could hardly understand her. Furthermore, the news covered the story heavily throughout the week with public officials calling for investigations and increased safety precautions.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Edward admitted. "Is she coming back in the spring?"

"My sister isn't coming back. Lan Fan lost her arm. She had an athletic scholarship."

Edward Elric stared at her in shock.

"Can I have my folder now?"

Naomi held out her pretty hand. Edward looked down at his left leg. As far as he knew his students were none the wiser about his prosthetic. Ed tightened his grip on the cute folder and made a decision.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Naomi looked ready to take up arms against him again.

Edward Elric stood up from his seat behind the desk. He tucked the folder under his left arm.

"She can't just quit."

"Our family can't afford the tuition here."

"Let me talk to her. There are other options we can explore. If she still wants to quit after that I'll collect the rest of the signatures from her instructors myself."

Edward held out his right hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

Naomi Mori sized him up then shook his hand.

"Deal."

* * *

On the fifth day Lan Fan turned her phone back on. Everyone in her family either had work or after school activities that afternoon. Lan Fan laid in bed scrolling through the messages of support she received in the form of texts and Facebook messages and posts. She cleared the notifications before deleting the app from her phone.

Lan Fan didn't use social media much in the first place. She couldn't stand the notification sounds, and often left her phone on silent. Now she didn't even want the blinking light. The people who mattered could reach her through calls and text.

Not that she wanted to talk to anyone. Lan Fan put the phone on vibrate and dropped it onto the bed beside by the pillow. Her brother stopped by that morning with breakfast from the cafe and opened her window before he went back to work. She stared at the maple outside and listened to the wind rushing through the leaves.

Lan Fan shifted her gaze to the leftover snacks she should have shared with Ling. She shut her eyes and felt bad about herself.

On the bed next to her the phone buzzed. Lan Fan sighed at the sound. Opening her eyes she picked up the phone.

A picture text from a number she didn't know.

Lan Fan tapped into the message. There she saw an artful photo of crème brulée alongside a cup of cappuccino with a heart swirled into the foam. It looked like one of those influencer posts Naomi imitated on Instagram. A instant later text appeared beneath the photo.

 _Hungry?_

Lan Fan's mouth watered at the thought of the delicious dessert. Indeed, she was hungry but this text wasn't meant for her. Typing with her thumb she responded.

 _Wrong number_

Then she turned the phone over and close her eyes. The phone buzzed again. And again and again and again and again. Lan Fan huffed then looked at the texts. Ramen. Takoyaki. Masala with rice and naan. Chongqing mala.

Pizza.

Someone had an eye for food photography.

 _What's your favorite food?_

Lan Fan considered turning her phone back off. Considered blocking the number. She considered her favorite food. Lan Fan Mori loved food and decided she couldn't possibly pick a favorite.

 _I like dumplings_ , Lan Fan replied.

The door to the room opened. Lan Fan sat up and saw her sister step in. In walked Edward Elric after her. The chemistry professor wore a crimson button down over a black tee shirt and slacks. On his feet he wore his infamous boots. Today he had that enviable hair of his in a ponytail instead of a braid.

Lan Fan tensed all over at the sight of her least favorite instructor.

"Don't get mad," Naomi said.

"What is he doing here? What are you doing here?" Lan Fan seethed.

Edward turned toward Naomi.

"Can you give us a minute?"

Naomi relented to his request and removed herself to the hallway. Edward tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Naomi tells me you're quitting school."

Lan Fan clutched her phone to her chest and eyed Edward with suspicion.

"What do you care?" Lan Fan monotoned.

"You're making a mistake. I know it feels like the world is ending-"

"How could you possibly know how I feel?" Lan Fan bit out at him. The temptation to throw her phone at his head came on strong.

Ed glanced over his shoulder at the shut door. He propped his left foot on the armrest of the chair next to her hospital bed. The chemist proceeded to remove his shoe and sock then rolled his pant leg up over his knee.

"I've lost pieces of myself, too," said Edward.

Lan Fan stared at Edward Elric's prosthetic. The artificial limb looked state of the art though the "foot" didn't look much like the real deal. In class Professor Elric moved between his lecture podium and the blackboard without the hint of a limp. During labs Ed strut around the room critiquing his students work. Edward Elric walked with purpose and never so much as stumbled.

"What's your sport?" Ed asked.

"Kyudo," Lan Fan answered.

To her own ears she sounded like an automaton.

"Archery, huh?" Ed crossed his forearms over his raised knee. "How important is it to you?"

"It's everything," Lan Fan admitted.

"Then fight for it. And while you're at it fight for your education. Your tuition for this semester is already paid, yeah?"

The injured archer nodded.

"Let's see if we can get you an academic grant to cover spring semester. In the meantime don't take incompletes.

"But…"

"Don't worry. I'll sort things out with your other instructors, and I'll help you get caught up in time for midterms."

Tears burned in her eyes.

Lan Fan lifted her hand to scrub them away.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because a lot of people helped me. Even though I didn't want it at the time. I wouldn't be here if not for them. Besides, you're my student. I want to see you succeed. What do you say?" Ed asked.

Lan Fan met Edward's eyes.

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

Edward pulled his phone from his pants pocket. He called his prosthetic technician through Facebook Messenger, resolutely ignoring the no cell phone sign on the wall as he pressed the down button on the elevator, because he sure as hell couldn't afford an international call otherwise. While Edward studied chemistry in Japan his childhood friend and former girlfriend Winry Rockbell enrolled in Georgia Institute of Technology to earn her Master's of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics.

They'd maintained a long distance relationship throughout Ed's undergraduate and master's studies at Oxford. Once upon a time the trio had planed to all convene in Atlanta for the last of their education. Edward would get his Doctorate in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech with Winry, while Alphonse studied medicine at Emory University. A plan that went out the window when Al met Mei Chang.

The two met by happenstance when Mei visited Oxford in her tour of undergraduate programs. Her parents apparently wanted her to be pre-med. Alphonse, who double majored in organic chemistry and pre-med, guided the tour of the science labs that day. In the end she settled on a school in Tokyo for zoology instead. After a thousand and one video chat dates Alphonse decided to follow her there for medical school.

Winry still hadn't forgiven Edward for following Alphonse. The announcement that Ed intended to spend another two to three years abroad hadn't gone over well. They had a massive fight. To make matters worse Alphonse took Winry's side of things. 'Brother,' Alphonse had said, 'You love Winry. You should be with Winry. We're not kids anymore we don't have to do everything together.'

Edward went to Japan.

Winry broke up with him.

At the time, Ed decided he could live with just being friends with Winry, but he wasn't ready to face the world without his brother. Unfortunately, Winry wasn't exactly speaking to him. Or rather they weren't speaking to each other. The breakup was still fresh. Neither of them had sent so much as a message in the last six months.

At least Alphonse and Winry kept in touch.

The only reason Ed had any idea how she was doing in Atlanta was Alphonse relaying scraps of information. The call rang and rang and it was around the fifth ring he realized it was roughly four o'clock in morning on the East Coast. The call picked up. Instead of the sound of Winry's sleepy mumbles he heard her raised voice amidst a cacophony.

"Hello?" Winry answered.

The doors in front of Edward slid open. He started into the empty elevator wondering where Winry Rockbell was at 4AM, and for that matter who she was with, all the while realizing it wasn't any of his business anymore. "Ed?" Winry's tone held a note of worry. The elevator doors started to close. Ed stopped them with one hand. He stepped into the elevator.

"Hey," Edward mashed the button for the lobby. "Sorry. I shouldn't've called so late. I didn't think about time difference." Knowing he had no right to he asked, "Where are you?"

"Hang on a sec."

Edward watched the descending numbers above the door. It made him think about acceleration and deceleration. How really deceleration was the same thing as acceleration only with a negative sign. The same way this conversation would probably be the same as every conversation they'd ever had only with negative connotations. Because if he hadn't screwed things up they would have one of their mock fights instead of an actual fight, and it'd probably be in person.

"Are you still there?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pulled the rug out from under you by changing the plan. I should have talked you. I love you and I want to be together. It's just that I don't know how to be 'Ed' when it's always been 'Ed and Al.' I know, I know, it used to be 'Ed and Al and Winry,' but it's never been only 'Ed and Winry.' I picked Al when I should've picked you. Al told me to pick you. I want to fix things. I don't know how to fix them, but I want to try fix what I broke. You have no idea how badly."

That's what Edward Elric wanted to say.

Instead, he said, "Yeah, I'm still here."

The noise on Winry's end had died down.

"Sorry about that I had to step outside. I couldn't hear you," she said.

"Where are you?" Ed asked again.

"I'm at The Varsity."

"Where?"

"The Varsity. It's downtown. The three of us met there after our campus tours and ate hot dogs. You remember," Winry told him.

Edward did remember.

The people taking orders at the counter yelled 'What'll ya have?' The Varsity served standard drive through fare and then some. The menu items might be standard but the staff used kitschy lingo. Potato chips were a 'Bag of Rags'; French fries were 'Strings.' If you wanted a plain hot dog you had to specify a 'Naked Dog.' Ask for a Hot Dog and you wound up with chili and mustard on top, which to be fair turned out to be pretty damn great, but at the end of the day not what Ed ordered.

There were these red and white paper hats with the logo on the side by the soda fountains you could take for souvenirs. Winry made Edward and Alphonse wear them long enough to take a selfie together. Ed's ended up in the trash. Winry kept hers and he thought Al might still have his. In retrospect, he wished he'd kept the stupid paper hat, but he'd never had a habit of accumulating keepsakes. He hadn't needed to what with Winry's digital photo albums and Granny scrapbooking their whole lives.

The three of them had fun that day, though the area where they looked at apartments seemed a little sketchy. Having lived most of her life in the middle of nowhere where everything closed at nine Winry thought it was neat the local chain of grocery stores were open 24 hours. Not to mention all their sale items were ten for ten. You could get ten boxes of popsicles for ten dollars at two in the morning if you wanted.

'Sure, if you want to get murdered in a grocery store parking lot at two in the morning,' he'd quipped. To which the landlord showing them a two bedroom apartment replied, 'Nah, they tore down the Murder Kroger. Moved The Masquerade, too. Adaptive reuse my ass. Goddamn gentrification, amiright?'

Winry Rockbell was apparently undeterred by the possibility of being murdered in a parking garage.

"You're getting burgers at four in the morning?" Ed asked incredulously.

"Did you need something?" She snapped back.

Edward bit his tongue. The elevator opened into the lobby. He took a deep breath and exited the elevator.

"How's school going?" He changed the subject toward the reason for his call.

Silence.

"Winry?" Ed checked to see if she was still on the line.

"I'm here. School is going well. Actually, I'm with my study group. Midterms are coming up. We got kicked out of the library for being too loud."

"That sounds about right," Edward joked without thought.

And Winry laughed.

Ed stopped outside of the entrance to the hospital to the side of the sliding doors. He hadn't heard her laugh in forever. Even before they broke up he hadn't heard her laugh in a long time. Different schedules and time zones made it difficult to carve out time to have a conversation. Winry wrote lengthy emails but Edward's replies were few and far between. He blamed his research and his teaching schedule and the classes he himself had to take.

Eventually, Edward Elric realized he only had himself to blame for the deterioration of their relationship.

It took the end of said relationship for him to see it.

"I am not loud," Winry exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I had to move the phone to my other ear because my eardrum burst. What was that?"

"Oh shut up! You're such a jerk," Winry said.

He couldn't be sure but almost she sounded fond.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?"

"I don't know if Al told you about the train accident that happened this week, but one of my students ended up losing her an arm," he continued.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Winry sympathized.

"Yeah. The thing is she does kyudo. Japanese archery. It's sort of her thing. She got a scholarship and everything. I'm gonna help her catch up on her school work, but I wanted to ask about prosthetics. I know if there's anyone who can figure out a way to get her back into the sport it's you."

Silence. Again. Edward pulled the phone away from his ear to make sure the call hadn't cut out. He put the phone back to his ear.

"Winry?"

"Thanks, Ed. It's nice of you to say," she said it so softly he had to strain to hear her.

Edward flushed and looked at his feet. He scuffed his shoe against the pavement and leaned back against the wall behind him. Looking up at the strip of sky between the buildings he stared at the grapefruit colored clouds. Sunset swept daytime into night in increments. He wondered if she was also looking at the sky.

"Yeah. Well, it's true," Ed muttered.

"It's good to hear your voice."

Edward blinked in surprise.

"It is?"

"Of course it is, dummy. I swear, you're the dumbest genius I've ever met."

"Meet a lot of geniuses do you?" Ed quipped.

"I guess not!"

Winry had him laughing this time.

"Let me do some research. I know more about specialized prosthetics for runners than anything else. Which arm did she lose and how far up was the amputation? What's her name by the way?" inquired Winry.

"Lan Fan Mori. Left arm all the way up to her shoulder," he responded

"Shoulder disarticulation? Not shoulder disarticulation and forequarter?"

"Nope. She's still got her scapula and clavicle," Ed confirmed.

He might not be a biologist but he studied enough human anatomy to know what she was talking about. Talking science was a lot easier than talking about his feelings. Edward didn't think she'd want to hear them at this point anyway. Too little too late.

"I'll let you know what I find but I'm thinking myoelectric."

"Not body powered? Aren't those expensive?" Ed ventured.

"First, I need to learn about kyudo. Second, I need to figure out exactly how to meet her articulation needs. Third, we figure out the financials. One step at a time," she said.

"Right."

"I'll talk to you soon. Okay?" Winry questioned.

"Okay. Bye, Winry."

"Bye, Ed. Don't be a stranger."

"Yeah," Edward nodded even though she couldn't see him. He hung up and headed home, feeling a little lighter than he had before he heard her voice.

* * *

"Are you mad at me?"

Lan Fan looked at her little sister. Naomi stood on the threshold with one foot in the door and her hand on the frame. She swung her school bag at her side. Lan Fan couldn't summon up the same level of anger she felt when Naomi first showed up with Edward Elric. After all, it looked like some good would come from it. Besides, arguments with Naomi always ended in tears. Naomi's not Lan Fan's but all the same she didn't want to fight.

And so she simply sighed.

"I'm not mad but please stop showing up unannounced. Just… send a text message. We both know you know how," Lan Fan gave her a pointed look.

Naomi was the reason their mother instigated the no phones at the table rule in the Mori household. More than once Mayu Mori had taken her phone away for the offense of liking instagram posts under the table.

"Okay!" Naomi beamed.

Her rose gold curls bounced as she bounded over to the bed. She looked like a commercial for hair color. Lan Fan thought, 'She should be in commercials.' Naomi Mori had all the makings of a model. If she set her mind to it she could become on idol.

"I'll make it up to you," said Naomi.

"You don't have to-" Lan Fan started to protest.

"I want to make it up to you," Naomi said as she unpacked a set of hair brushes and makeup from her school bag.

"Naomi, I told you I don't want to be in one of your transformation videos," Lan Fan raised her voice slightly. She wasn't angry before but she was getting angry now.

"No video or pictures," Naomi promised. To prove it she turned her phone off and put it away. "I want to do something to make you feel a little better. This is what I do best."

Lan Fan searched her sister's face. Naomi looked like she might've been crying earlier in the day. The injured archer didn't think a makeover would make her feel any better, but she had the sense it might make her sweet sister feel some better.

"I suppose I could use some help with my hair," Lan Fan relented.

Naomi's smile sparkled.

"I've been saying that for years!"

Lan Fan rolled her eyes. Naomi giggled. Though Lan Fan had a bath that afternoon the first thing Naomi insisted on was washing her hair. Naomi wheeled the doctor's stool into the bathroom, and had Lan Fan sit with her back to the sink. Turning on the tap she tested the water on her wrist until she had it at a suitable temperature.

"Head back," Naomi instructed.

Lan Fan relaxed while her little sister washed her hair. The feeling of Naomi's nails on her scalp felt nice. Unfortunately, hospital shampoo wasn't up to Naomi Mori's standards. She made up for it by conditioning Lan Fan's hair twice. Once satisfied with the softness of her sister's hair she patted away the excess moisture with a towel.

First, she carefully combed out the tangles. Next she set to drying Lan Fan's long hair with a round brush and the dinky hospital issue hair dryer. Despite the less than decent drying apparatus Naomi seemed more or less happy with the results of her work. Lan Fan didn't have an opinion as Naomi forbid her from looking in the mirror.

The injured archer didn't much care how it looked. Having her hair clean and brushed felt nice. She'd already decided to let Naomi have her fun as long as she put Lan Fan's hair in a bun afterward. On day two of this disaster Lan Fan had figured out putting her hair in a proper bun without help would take some serious practice.

"So," Naomi said after they maneuvered Lan Fan and her sidekick the I.V. stand back to the hospital bed. She stood beside the bed with her makeup spread out on the table for ease of access. "Tell me about Ling Yao."

"I don't know anything about him," Lan Fan stated.

"Really? You don't know anything about him?" Naomi laced her words with sarcasm. "You know his name."

"Naomi," Lan Fan sighed in exasperation.

"Tell me one thing about him," Naomi cajoled. "Something I don't already know." She cleaned Lan Fan's face with a cleansing cloth before applying a light moisturizer.

Lan Fan thought about everything she knew about Ling, while Naomi brushed mineral foundation onto her face with a kabuki brush. Considering Naomi and Kana were the ones to fill Lan Fan in on the events immediately following the crash her siblings probably knew more than she did. Lan Fan had even learned Ling's last name from Naomi.

'Ling Yao,' Lan Fan thought. 'Probably not hafu then.'

"His favorite color is yellow," Lan Fan said. Of course, Ling's favorite color was an educated guess. "I think his favorite color is yellow."

"It doesn't count if you don't know for sure. Try again."

Lan Fan waited for Naomi to finish applying tinted balm to her lips before speaking.

"He asked me to have coffee with him," she confessed.

Instantly, Lan Fan wished she hadn't said anything about the coffee date.

"I knew it! He wants to be your boyfriend," Naomi gasped.

"He doesn't want to be my boyfriend," Lan Fan denied. "He asked me to have coffee with him before."

Though Lan Fan meant before the train accident she couldn't say the rest of the sentence. She couldn't talk about what happened. Lan Fan didn't think she'd ever be able to talk about the accident. There was a lot she couldn't remember. Not that she wanted to remember anything that happened, but what she could remember she did not want to talk about. Ever. Lan Fan measured her life in before and after the crash. The guy from the train was part of the before.

No matter how much she wanted to go back to the perfect moment before her world turned upside down it was impossible.

Only Lan Fan's arbitrary measurement of time didn't account for Ling Yao's sudden appearance in her doorway with two bags of takeout in hand. Over her sister's shoulder she stared at the handsome man wearing jeans and a blazer over ones of those silly t-shirts that made her smile every time.

"Hi! I hope you don't mind I brought dinner."


End file.
